With the inflation rate expected to increase again in December after October and November’s surges, SumUp conducted a survey, asking US business owners about their understanding of inflation and its impact on their business, past, and future.
The survey focused on 4 key areas: the national “impact of inflation on businesses, the states most impacted, the most impacted industries, and the impact on small businesses.”
When it comes to smaller businesses, “92% have admitted having felt the negative impact of inflation on their business in the past two years.”
7 in 10 admitted that operational costs (such as energy and materials) “were a standout issue.”
Looking towards 2025, 75% of business owners expect “profitability to go down in the next year, despite customer demand and pricing having been brought up for nearly half (47%) of businesses.”
Many in smaller industries seem to have put strategies in place, with “63% admitting that they’ve had to raise prices to keep up with increased costs.”
30% mentioned that they’ve “diversified suppliers, and 35% stated they’ve had to delay investment and hiring.”
That said, 51% of small business owners admitted that their “strategies hadn’t been successful at countering the negative impact of inflation.”
Despite the decrease in the inflation rate over last summer, many are still feeling the “lingering effect of inflation, especially businesses.”
In fact, 84% had to adjust their pricing strategy “over the past year and 64% predicted that their profitability would be impacted by inflation in the new year.”
Maine tops their ranking with “a score of 80.40.”
100% of those we surveyed in Maine mentioned the “increase in energy costs, and all our Maine participants also said that they’d delayed either investments or hiring in an attempt to mitigate the impact of inflation.”
However, while Maine tops their ranking, “only 1% stated that the strategies had been unsuccessful, signaling that progress has been made.”
South Dakota ranked second with a “slightly lower score of 80.00.”
All South Dakotan business owners claimed they were “still closely monitoring inflation, and they all also mentioned that they’ve had to delay the speed of investments and hiring over the past two years. It’s an even split success wise, with 50% mentioning that strategies have been unsuccessful.”
Tennessee stands in the third place, with a “total score of 76.60.”
83% of business owners said they were actively “monitoring inflation, but all of them admitted to having to adjust their strategies because of it.”
Finally, 33% admitted that the measures they have “been implementing have been unsuccessful.”
Mississippi and Iowa complete the top 5 of the “most impacted states across the US. Business owners.”
As covered, SumUp is a financial technology company driven by the mission of empowering small businesses.
Established in 2012, SumUp is the financial partner for “more than 4 million entrepreneurs in over 35 markets worldwide.”
In the US, SumUp offers an ecosystem of affordable, easy-to-use financial products, such as “point-of-sale and loyalty solutions, card readers, and invoicing.”